Nicholls pledges Bruce Highway upgrades

A swag of Queens land regional intersections and bridges deemed unsafe or flood-prone will be upgraded under a Liberal National Party government, leader Tim Nicholls has announced.

In Bundaberg on Monday, Mr Nicholls committed $360 million to fix a dozen sections of the Bruce Highway spread across the state, in addition to existing funding allocated under the state government's Queensland Transport and Roads Investment Program.

Included in the works are intersection upgrades in Bowen, Proserpine, Gympie and Mackay, and improving a bridge in Currajong.

It comes on the heels of other LNP election campaign promises to boost and future-proof major Queensland roads, including plans to replicate the notoriously congested M1 motorway if elected on November 25.

In Brisbane on Monday, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told ABC Radio the federal government would cover 50 per cent of the $500 million needed to complete the project, a figure Labor has said falls well below of the funds needed.

Asked whether Mr Turnbull's commitment was too modest, Mr Nicholls said an equal split had been accepted by the current state Labor government for other projects.

He was also questioned over his plans to address state debt following Mr Turnbull's remarks that it paled in significance compared to economic growth.

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Current projections show Queensland's debt will reach $81 billion by 2020-2021, a figure Mr Nicholls says will not be reached if he holds the reins in parliament.

"We are going to manage debt over the economic cycle so that we can effectively, over time, make sure that we are not paying more in interest than we need to," he said, again declining to outline his party's specific plans.